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Song of the Swans Part 2
Chapter 4 Crashing in a rocket can be fun, smashingly so. Kate had heard many stories from other minifigures who had failed to land a rocket correctly, and couldn't be trusted with a car in a crowded street. The rocket usually survived, the minifigures too, but the most interesting stories, to her, were the gruesome ones. Her favorite story of all, however, was told to her by Gallant Strong Cyclone. It began in a bright day in Avant Gardens. Wisp Lee and Epsilon Starcracker had just finished ridding the area outside the Paradox Research Facility of Stromlings. They were so proud. Beck Strongheart would be proud, they thought. "Look!" Wisp Lee said, pointing to the sky. A rocket was approaching. "Here come the recruits. For once, they'll have safe grounds to start in." The two Nexus Forcers watched and smiled, their eyes following the rocket's trajectory. Then their smiles turned upside down as the rocket overshot the landing pad and crashed straight into the Paradox Research Facility. There was a colorful explosion, followed by the wall around the impact collapsing. Wisp Lee shielded his eyes, but Epsilon Starcracker looked on. Then he began to cry, as Stromlings poured out of the Facility's containment zones, breached by the rocket impact. All their hard work, down the drain! The story brought a smirk to Kate's face, even now as the rocket she was currently in was in the process of crashing on an unknown planet. The rocket had approached upside down, and Intrepid pulled on the controls as hard as he could. The horizon appeared over the hood, and Intrepid's eyes lit up with relief. They were pulling 'up' and the engines looked to be firing back up. They would make it! Then a tailspoke, skimming just above the ground, struck a pebble and the entire rocket flipped over. Nose over tail it somersaulted across the ground, Intrepid screamed and Kate screamed too as physics took over and made their lives miserable. Then one of its engines caught on the ground and broke off, followed by the other, and the rocket stopped somersauling and took to rolling over on its fuselage. Finally the rocket stopped spinning and skidded to a halt. Its glass roof slid open and Intrepid popped out. He leaned over the edge, gasping and panting while he did his business, and Kate stood up next to him, not looking much better. "There goes..." Intrepid huffed, "...my breakfast." The two looked around. They had crashed in an area of rolling hills, grassy and green with some spots of trees. There weren't any houses, but a single gray road snaked around the lower elevation. So there was infrastructure. There was also a long brown gash stretching for miles, dug up by their rocket. They followed the gash as far as they could see, until it ended at one hill. Above that was a column of vapor, otherwise the sky was a clear and typical blue. "Doesn't look like too bad a place. There's infrastrucure." Intrepid said, and turned around. Then his eyes widened in surprise, because the other side of their rocket was resting on a sudden drop, a clifftop at the edge of a rocky canyon that stretched fifty feet downwards. They were lucky to have stopped here, because a fall down that would hurt a LOT more. Intrepid said so. He sighed with relief. "We're lucky to have stopped here." "Yeah." Kate agreed, scrutinizing the drop. "A fall down that would hurt a LOT more." There was a sudden, horrifying creak, and the rocket tilted, sending Intrepid and Kate sprawling back into the cockpit. The sky rotated according to their perception, and before they knew it the rocket had tipped over and was falling into the ravine. The two minifigures proceeded to scream as the rocket descended. It struck the ground with a crash that resounded between the canyon's rocky walls. Their Imagination kept them intact, and Intrepid didn't think he had any broken bones. He looked over to Kate, who didn't look too shaken up either. Just a minor setback, he thought, being down here rather than up there. They'd have to climb up. They could climb up. "Uh oh." Kate said, looking up. Intrepid's ears twitched, and then he heard it too. Looking ahead, they saw a slide of rocks rolling and bouncing towards them, dislodged by the impact. The pebbles didn't look too evil, but it was a pebble that ultimately brought down the rocket, so looks could be deceiving! Then there were some truly evil looking boulders, massive and heavy, rolling towards them as well. "Time to bail." Intrepid said, throwing the hatch open again. They grabbed their backpacks and jumped out of the rocket, which still had enough juice in it to miniaturize and stow away. Then they ran. It wasn't even a downhill slope and the rocks were still gaining on the two running minifigures. Intrepid's legs ached. Either the planet's gravity was stronger, or he wasn't fit - the latter was more likely, since he'd spent the last month relaxing and playing videogames, instead of smashing Maelstrom and building up a sweat. Kate, conversely, was faster and getting ahead, and that was in Samurai armor. She looked back and waved. "Hurry! There's a cave ahead." "We're outrunning them, right?" Intrepid wheezed. The look in her eyes betrayed him. The rocks were close. He felt the pebbles bouncing against his feet, trying to trip him up. But he saw the cave opening in the curved wall ahead. It was slightly above the ground and Kate got in first, reaching a hand out for him to grab. He grabbed it and she pulled, and they got in just in time. It was crazy to think rocks were consciously trying to smash him, Intrepid reasoned. But that didn't stop them from being cold, unconscious, heartless smashers. With hearts of stone. Wait. Kate was building a wall of property modules over the entrance. They obscured the light and the cave was getting dark fast. "What are you doing?" Intrepid said, as the rumble of the rocks grew louder, like an earthquake. He ran over and stuck his head out of a castle window, then saw what Kate had seen. "Oh." The biggest, most foul boulder ever, nearly as wide as the canyon itself, was on a path to crash right into them. It knocked the other rocks out of its path, rolling faster than the others. Intrepid donned his thinking cap and was about to throw everything he had in the modules section of his backpack behind Kate's stuff, when he noticed his pack was empty. He'd already emptied it of everything back at the Fun Party Place, when the other dimension's dragons attacked and needed to be distracted. There was only the pod rocket, which could be repaired. He went to the bricks section and quickly threw a bunch of random elements in place instead, and just in time. How much they helped or not didn't matter because the wall held when the boulder slammed into it. The cave shook for several seconds, then it was still. Intrepid sighed with relief again, Kate too. "Think we're safe?" he asked. A growling in the darkness behind them told them, No. Intrepid bristled. He and Kate both turned around slowly. At the back the cave, a pair of red eyes appeared. They glowed in the dark malevolently. Then they were joined by more eyes, all unblinking, all staring. Moving closer. Chapter 5 "There are Stromlings here too?" Intrepid grumbled, equipping his gear in the dark. "Not Stromlings." Kate corrected. "Look at the eyes, they're round. They're Darklings." Intrepid frowned. "Are they any better?" A flashlight clicked on. Kate handed it to Intrepid, then turned on her own. They aimed them at the eyes, illuminating dark, minifigure shaped beings, but they were hunched over with their arms folded ahead of them. Some carried weapons, others had wings, and they all looked eager to attack. Kate was silent. "They're not better," Intrepid amended. Then they sprung forwards. The Nexus Forcers were ready. Intrepid unholstered a Pea Shooter and fired the projeciltes off into the rush. The peas knocked over many Darklings, but didn't smash them. The ones that got close were quickly dispatched by Kate's Samuraizor combo. The valiant conjured a target dummy which Kate threw into the corner, and the rest of the Darklings surged towards it. "Let's go!" Kate shouted, and she and Intrepid ran into the distracted crowd. Intrepid switched back to his Bat Lord staff and smashed as many as he could, then they rushed deeper into the cave. Their flashlights bounced and illuminated sporadic spots on the walls and ceiling. Some walls were rough and matte, others glistening with moisture or were fuzzy with drab colored fungi. There was a clattering of feet behind them as the Darklings pursued. "Are you sure we should be going this way?" Intrepid asked, peeking over his shoulder to fire the pea shooter some more. He replenished his imagination with a Notion Potion. "What if it's a dead end?" A device in Kate's left hand projected a green hologram that depicted a path. "This is a topographical scanner, it's standard equipment among the Ventures." Intrepid noted her outfit. "You're not Venture." "So it cost a bit more for me to get it! Stop being a pessimist." "I'm not-" "Make a right," Kate instructed, and the cave suddenly split into two tunnels. Kate spawned another target dummy to send down the left path, then they went right, quickly finding themselves at an incline. They scrambled up, and Kate placed another castle wall module behind them. If the Darklings caught up to that point, they wouldn't be able to follow. At last the two could breathe calmly. Intrepid's legs felt like they were on fire. Kate seemed eager to take it slow, too. "We can walk from here." she said. "Get our strength back." "In case we meet more Darklings." Intrepid agreed. He frowned at himself. Was that pessimism? "So we can defeat them, I mean." That sounded optimistic enough. He frowned some more. What was he doing? He didn't really care how others thought of him, although, that was easy when he didn't know anybody. Luke and Mara didn't mind his faults, if they were faults. Why was he self-evaluating himself all of a sudden? "So what's on your mind?" Kate asked suddenly. "Me." Intrepid replied. "Oh. Want to talk about this 'Me' then?" "Who said anything about talking?" "Me. According to the scanner, we have half an hour of walking until we get to a possible exit." Kate explained. "It'd go by faster if we're occupied with something, like talking." The walk was long and would be boring, Intrepid knew. He was about to say something about having to watch out for Grumpy Darklings, but something held him back. He considered rephrasing it. Yeah, that sounded less pessimistic. "Okay." he said. "We left the Darklings behind anyway, so we probably don't need to worry about them." "Yep!" Kate said brightly. "So let's talk about your watch." "My what?" Intrepid looked at his wrist, surprised to see a leather-banded multi-faceted timepiece on his left arm. He realized. The thing was shape-shifting. "Ah. It's just a watch." he said casually. "It had a metal band before." Kate said. "You've been looking at it." Intrepid accused. "Now it's a spider." Intrepid jumped at the word and flung his wrist. Then he looked at it, and it was still a watch. "Not funny." he scowled. "Sorry." Kate laughed. "Dynamic devices are normal. You have any Prismatic stuff?" "The color changing gear? Just a Mosaic Jester hat." "What about the Baseball Cap? I like that one." Intrepid sighed. "I sold it. You don't get a lot of backpack space as at FTPer on Avant gardens. And that's one thing my team hasn't figured out how to hack yet." "So what do you keep in there?" Kate asked. "Just the best gear. Some unique stuff. Good weapons. I like matching colors." "But nothing personal?" she pressed. "No pictures of family?" How quickly the conversation was shifting. Intrepid sighed again. It was true, he hadn't had someone to talk to, really talk to, in a long time. It was mostly his fault, since he never tried to find anyone to talk to. His teammates let him have his space, to do what? Sit and mope. And sleep. There was a lot in his mind that he did, consciously, try not to think about. Now they were bubbling up into a brain soup, with memories, thought trains, tangents, things he wanted to say. But to who? Kate seemed eager to hear. But why? "Why do you want to talk so much about me?" Intrepid inquired. Kate smiled. "Intrep. We can talk about you first, then we can talk about me. Deal?" "Fine." "Now I'll answer your question." Kate began, still smiling, although her gaze began to detach. "For the longest time, Cyclone and I were stuck in a strange world. Things were different in ways no one can make up. It was both a big, noisy world, with lots of people, but it was lonely too. Lonely, because in this world, there was no one for me and Cyclone. No one for us to talk to. No one for us to think about. No one to think about us. That's lonely." They were in a lonely world. Different for them. Wrong. "But then, two years later, you appeared out of nowhere," she continued. There was a brief flash to the side. Out of the light a boy appeared. "Gallant Strong Cyclone; Kate." he said. "You said you were here to bring us back." Kate stifled, and brought the back of her hand to wipe her face. Intrepid recalled the event clearly. They'd cried then. She was crying now. He held out a hand. They took it. Then they were in Avant Gardens. Then they were in the cave again. Intrepid blinked. His red haired travelmate held up a hand. "So," she continued, "I can thank you. For saving us. And I'm an inquisitive person, especially about interesting things. And interesting people." "Inquisitive, yep." Intrepid agreed. "You are a hero," Kate stated, "but I can't help but notice, you don't seem the hero type. No offense, but you're pretty anti-social." "Yeah." "You're a loner. You hang out with strange people - again I mean no offense to Luke and Mara – but they don't really talk to you. Your life is routine. So you're not your typical hero, you see? You're still an interesting person. I can't help but want to figure more about you." She offered a smile. For once, Intrepid smiled back. Just one side of his face curled up, the one she could see. There was a pause in the conversation as he thought, then he decided. "Alright then," he said. "So you're figuring me out." "Am I?" "Luke Mercury and Mara Mercury are good friends," he said, "but you're right. I've known them for a long time, and we used to talk, really talk, back then. And you're right, they haven't talked to me much lately." "Do you try to?" "No." Intrepid admitted. "But we give each other space. They're giving me space." "It's like they know you don't want to talk." Kate said. "Right. But I'm talking now." "Keep going!" she urged. "So," Intrepid said, trying to think of something interesting, something profound. He found something aligned with the recesses of his brain. "You know how, Luke M' Shadow is actually Luke. Luke Mercury. Mara is Mara Mercury. They're cousins." "I didn't know that." "Pretty distant cousins, actually. But those are their actual names. Not their Nexus Force designated names." He kept going. He couldn't stop himself now. "So, my name is actually Aiden." Now that he said it, the name sounded foreign. It had a sharp taste on his tongue, bitter at how he'd disowned it for so long. He'd called himself Intrepid for 5 years. Now he wondered, and it troubled him, had he accepted a new name, forgotten his old one, and never come back home... to get away? Had some part of him not wanted to go back? Had some part of him not wanted to be there to save his family...? He shook his head violently. Kate's voice touched him. "Is something wrong?" she asked, concerned. "No!" he said cheerfully. He was good at ignoring thoughts. He could keep talking. "So, I bet you want to hear about my family. You asked if I had pictures of them." Kate grinned. "Well do you?" Intrepid reached into his pocket and dug out his I-Brick, and brought up the photo gallery. He swiped past pictures of Stromlings, flying minifigures, a portrait of Beck Strongheart, flowers, and then finally he reached another portrait. A young man stood in the picture, in front of a fence behind a blue brick house. It was an outdoor picture taken at night, illuminated by the camera's own flash bulb. His black hair was nearly indiscernable from the night sky around him. His face was round and bright, in part due to his wide smile. He had some facial hair on his dimpled chin. "Here's my brother, Alex." Intrepid said, handing her the phone. "I took it two weeks ago." Kate inspected the screen. Against the darkness, the glow illuminated her face. "He looks like you." she said. "Is he older?" "He's taller, but I'm the older brother. He looks like my dad. My sisters, too." "And you take after your mom?" "Guess so." "Any pictures of them?" Kate asked eagerly, swiping through the gallery some more. Intrepid looked at his feet. A pebble lay ahead of him and he kicked it. "No." he said. "There are some pictures on the mantelpiece, back at Alex's house on Elistra, though. I can show you those, when we get there." "Who's this?" Kate asked. Intrepid looked up. "Who?" he demanded, more sudden than he'd intended. "Show me." he said more mellowly. Kate tilted the phone to him, and he saw what picture she was talking about. His heart had kicked up its pace before, but now it sagged. He reached out a hand and Kate handed him the phone. "I didn't take this one," Intrepid said, staring at the screen, looking at the fair face of a girl he called Red. He hadn't realized how much he missed her. She, like many other people, was not someone he'd thought about lately. He turned to Kate. It spooked him that he saw Red in her. Looking back at the phone, it spooked him even more that he also saw himself in Red. Him and Kate. He turned the screen off and put it back. "She's somebody," he said. "A friend." Keen to change the subject, he said, "Now let's talk about you." Chapter 6 They talked long enough that they nearly missed the exit point. In the end it didn't matter, because the possible exit was behind a cave-in, and inacessible. "We could blast through it," Intrepid suggested. Kate shook her head. "I think not. Wouldn't want to bring the whole cave down." "Right. Let's keep talking." It surprised Intrepid that he was actually enjoying his conversation with Kate, and how much he was involving himself. He found himself liking her company. She was humorous and witty, she talked back, and she was more carefree than him in her own way. And there was a mutual interest in each others' backstories. When asked about her past, Kate had said, "First, try and guess." Intrepid had looked at her quizzically. "How?" "Look at me now, think about my personality, and think, How'd she get like that? She must have this many siblings, and her parents were like this, et cetera. I want to hear your point of view." "I'm honored." Intrepid had replied. "Honestly, I'm not one to assume things about people." "Just try!" "Okay, I'll call it an educated guess." Intrepid cleared his throat. "Here we go... so you have, no parents." Kate raised her eyebrows. "No siblings, and no friends. No pets. Everyone ignores you. Then, you joined the Nexus Force and impressed everybody with... some skill you had. You're so outgoing now to make up for the lack of socializing as a kid." Intrepid turned and grinned. "That's it. How'd I do?" Kate rolled her eyes. "Imaginative, but not even close. I've got family, two parents, a sister, a brother, and cats. And I had friends, too. But they all live far from the Nimbus System." "Why'd you join the Nexus Force then?" "Honestly, that world was perfect. I could have anything and everything, anyone can, without really doing anything. It's a matured society, but not very exciting. No conflict. And that's not a bad thing, just I felt I couldn't do anything to help a society that's already reached perfection. The Nexus Force, meanwhile, had conflict. People needing help. I could help." Kate turned to Intrepid. "I know we're talking about me, but I want to interrupt and ask, why'd you join the Nexus Force?" Intrepid shrugged. "Similar sentiment to yours," he said, "wanted to help. But different backstory. I had an uncle who joined the Nexus Force during the first call, when it was just starting. When I was old enough, I left as well." He remembered his parents and grandparents resisting Uncle Killian's departure. Were they against his enlistment as well? He couldn't remember such a debacle, and that surprised him. He tried to recall something, but where there should have been a memory, a picture, at least an idea, there was just a hole in his mind there. His brow furrowed. He could usually pull up memories whenever he wanted, and whenever he didn't want, too. "Back to you." he said. "So, then I came to Avant Gardens on the Venture Explorer," Kate said. "Like everyone else." Intrepid quipped. Kate interjected, "Isn't it strange that we keep getting recruits from that ship? Are they still coming?" "Yeah, I'd know! I've walked past that landing pad everyday for years and there's Wisp Lee, always greeting someone new." Intrepid chuckled. "I've never seen someone crash into the Research Facility, though. I bet, say, ten years from now, when the Research Facility is-" "...a museum," Kate suggested. "Yeah, a museum - there will still be recruits landing and asking Wisp Lee what's going on, and he'll be like, 'You gotta be kidding me!'" They both laughed. Kate's tophographical scanner chirped to indicate another exit was near. They walked a few more feet and rounded a bend, beyond which was a beam of natural light entering through a shaft in the ceiling. "Boost me up," Kate said, and Intrepid knelt on one leg and put his hands on his knees. Kate stepped up and stuck her head out into the day. "Coast is clear." she reported. She stepped down and Intrepid looked for a rope. "What's there to check for?" he asked. "Where's your sense of covertness?" Kate chided. "It's fun to sneak around. And there could be Darklings up there." "Are there?" "I said the coast is clear." "You didn't look all around." "It's all in fun, Aiden." Again, Intrepid felt a jab at the name. "Think you could call me just Intrepid?" he asked. "You're on a real name basis with me." Kate said. "Yeah, you chose that, over what, Pretty Funny Mortal? I chose Intrepid." Kate smirked. "Suit yourself, just Intrepid." He found an Imagination infused climbing rope with foothold knots and tossed it up into the skylight of a hole. It tied itself around something, Intrepid confirmed with a tug, and began to climb up, Kate behind him. They emerged in the entrance of a shallow cave. Compared to the subterranean tunnel they had just traversed, this one was much drier, and less chilly. It opened into a small forest. The rope, which had tied itself around a sturdy rock, untied itself and Intrepid stowed it. "Look, there's a town there." Kate said, pointing to a row of houses at the forest's edge. The two jogged over, and to their dismay, found it empty of people and the buildings in states of neglect and disrepair. Deserted. Silently they crept between the walls and peeked inside the windows and doors, but their brief search revealed nothing to indicate people had been here in a long time, except one spot where Intrepid saw something in the ground. "There are footsteps in this dirt," Intrepid noticed, crouching down. "Small feet. Soft depressions. Someone either trying to walk lightly, silently, or something that creeps lightly by nature. Like a Darkling." "You could be a Buccaneer with that ability," Kate said. "I actually prefer Assembly. Building and things." "You could join Sentinels. I'd trade you my extra gear." "I could have use for that without joining anything." "So we're going to investigate?" Kate asked, gesturing to the tracks. Intrepid followed their direction. They disappeared into a building. Intrepid looked at the clear sky. "If it hasn't rained lately, these tracks are fresh." Something slammed above them, and they both looked straight up. Above them, in the top floor of the building in front of them, was a set of closed shutters. The window, closed now, also overlooked the forest, and the cave which they had exited. Kate and Intrepid looked at each other. "A spy." she said. "Say we catch him?" Intrepid asked. "Or her. Whoever it is, they may be able to tell us how to get back in the air and off this rock." Kate thought aloud. "You've got pictures to show me. I want to see them." "Let's go then." Intrepid said, and entered the building. The first floor windows were just frames, with some broken glass on the ground around them. There was wooden door, lying on the floor. This entrance room housed some decrepit furniture: a three legged table and a cloth chair that looked about to crumble at the slightest breeze. Intrepid had seen an old scarf turn to dust from age. He didn't want to breathe the air around that chair. At the back of the room was a wooden stairwall that turned at the house's corners and lead upstairs. Kate followed behind silently as they approached, and Intrepid put a foot on the first step. It creaked most loudly. With sighs, they climbed the rest of the stairs. Despite the creaks and groans of the rickety structure, they had a place to go. At the top of the stairs, the upstairs floor was closed off behind an actual door. Intrepid paused. Kate breathed behind him. "Well?" she hissed. "Open it." Intrepid grabbed the doorknob and pushed. The upstairs room was better looking, with some shabby but firm furniture occupying it. The window which had shut so loudly was on the far wall, and Intrepid crossed the floor towards it. These floorboards were surprisingly sturdy and didn't do so much as creak, aided by plastic rugs that covered most of the wood which muffled his footsteps. At the window was a chair, a telescope, and a side table with some accessories: binoculars, some books, and a jar containing smooth, bright colored rocks. Someone's hang out spot. Intrepid turned to Kate. "It's someone's hang out spot." he said. Kate nodded. "But someone's nowhere to be found." she said. Intrepid felt the need to sneeze, but held it back. Some dust was drifting down from the ceiling. Disturbed. They both tilted their heads up. Intrepid had barely focused on the dark rafters, enclosed in shadow, when a form that was large and dark fell down from directly above and landed squarely on him. He gave a shout as he was knocked down. Falling over, his Bat Lord helmet hit the table with a clang, and his weight pushed the table and its contents over. He got up quickly, just in time to see the figure dart out of the door, a Sentinel Samurai in pursuit. Intrepid ran to join her. Their footsteps clattered down the stairs, which shook and felt ready to fall from this much use, the most it had seen in awhile. Intrepid caught a glimpse of the figure running out of the house, and Intrepid swung himself over the banister to the floor, passing Kate. Shortcut. Once on the ground, he activated his helmet's speed boost, and with an exaggerated tire-squealing noise he blasted out of the house. The figure was in sight, running deeper into the abandoned village. It darted around a corner which Intrepid had to slow down to take, but he was not far behind. He was impressed with it's escape and speed, he admitted. The figure was fast. But he was faster. In a second he was upon it, and he jumped to grab the figure right around the shoulders, tackling and bringing it down. It shrieked as they both fell, and Intrepid identified the feeling of the material he wore. A dark brown hood and cloak, soft. They were both on the ground now, and Intrepid turned the figure over to see his face. Correction: her face. Chapter 7 Intrepid had expected a Darkling. He hadn't expected a girl. Surprised, Intrepid quickly got up and off the girl, as it was a girl, who didn't look older than Intrepid, maybe younger, and built smaller. Her hair was a pale blond color, short in length and tied up in her hood. She had a narrow face and large blue eyes, which stared at him, wide with terror. Underneath the cloak, her attire was simple, dark brown pants and a white shirt that was dirt stained; at least it was dirt stained now, probably thanks to Intrepid pushing her to the ground. Still, she had been spying on them, and that warranted for some questioning. "Who are you?" he asked sharply. "Were you spying on us?" The girl trembled, and shut her eyes tightly. She began to plead, "Please don't smash me, please." Then she was silent. Perplexed, Intrepid looked around. Kate wasn't here yet. He thought about how he'd been improving his people skills. A change in tone would help, he decided. "Hey..." he said, softly now, "I'm not going to hurt you. In fact, we could use your help." The girl opened her eyes, but still looked frightened. Her eyes were very reflective in the overcast light, Intrepid noted, because her blue irises were like mirrors in which he saw his reflecion. His attire, he imagined, could be frightening, and he removed his Bat Lord helmet. As soon as she saw his face, hers became visibly relieved. "You're not a demon." she whispered. "A demon?" Intrepid repeated. "I'm a minifigure, just like you. What made you think that?" "You came out of the Demon Caves." she said. "I saw from the window. I thought you were coming to take me... like they took..." They heard pants and footsteps running over, and the girl turned to their source, turning silent again. Intrepid turned, it was just Kate coming around a building, but she had a way to go. Intrepid turned back to the girl. "It's just my friend Kate," he said, "and I'm Intrepid. It's safe to talk to us. What's your name?" She answered him slowly. "My name is Eclipse." Kate rushed up to Intrepid and rested her hands on her knees, gasping for breath. "Whew, boy, you can move." she panted. She looked from Intrepid to the girl. "You both can move." she added. Intrepid was staring at the air between him and the girl, Eclipse, now. Her name hung there. His name. Eclipse was his name, but it was also this girl's name. He hadn't realized what a pretty name Eclipse could be. "Eclipse." Intrepid Fusion Eclipse repeated, awestruck. "That's a nice name." He turned to Kate. "Isn't Eclipse a pretty name? I like Eclipse. Her name is Eclipse." he rambled. "Did you know her name is Eclipse?" Kate scowled at Intrepid, then turned to Eclipse and smiled to introduce herself. "I'm Kate, and this guy here, who..." she took note of Eclipse's dirtied shirt, "...knocked you down? He's Intrepid. And he's not my friend." "What?" Intrepid shouted. Kate whirled on him. "You didn't hurt her, did you?" she demanded. "I tackled her," he said, raising his hands defensively, "I thought she was... I didn't think she was... who she was. No, I didn't hurt her." He extended a hand to Eclipse, and she slowly reached for it. "Are you hurt? I'm really sorry for tackling you." Kate grabbed her hand first and pulled her to her feet. Standing up now, Eclipse glanced from Intrepid to Kate quizzically. "I'm not hurt," Eclipse said. "And I forgive you. I shouldn't have run from you." "No no," Intrepid dismissed, "it's fine. I shouldn't have chased you. It's okay if you thought we were Darklings." "Darklings?" Eclipse asked. "Is that what you call the demons? From the cave?" Intrepid pursed his lips thoughtfully, then said, "I guess so. But we can call them demons if you want.” Kate looked at Intrepid astoundedly. She shook her head between him and Eclipse. Then she took off her helmet, too, letting her hair cool off from the run. "So your name's Eclipse?" Kate asked, and the girl nodded. "So," Kate began, "we don't know much about this place, and we're hoping you can tell us about it. We can talk back in the house. Is that where you hang out?" Eclipse answered, "Yes." as the winds began to pick up. The trees rustled and Intrepid felt a raindrop fall on his face. Looking up, he noticed that the overcast sky was graying with rain clouds. "We should go inside." he agreed, and they went. "I've got a fresh set of clothes if you want," Kate asked as they walked. "Me too," Intrepid said, slinging off his backpack and looking in, "somewhere. Unlinked. An LU shirt, jeans. Never worn." Kate turned to him. "She'll like my clothes better." she said. Intrepid sighed. "Thank you." Eclipse answered, and took a bundle of Kate's casuals. When they made it back to the house and to the top floor, a thunderclap rang in the distance. "I'll go close the door, and find something to block the windows," Kate volunteered, and headed for the door. "Come on Intrep, let her change." "Can't she just equip them?" Intrepid asked, puzzled. Kate grabbed him and pulled him out, shutting the door. "Something tells me it doesn't work like that here." Kate hissed. "You still need to work on your people skills. And expand your vision. Follow my lead." Intrepid tried not to feel miffed. What, did she think he was falling for Eclipse? He wasn't like that. He knew himself. Did he? If his chaotic mind and recent events told him anything, it was that other people always knew him better than he did. Red had. Kate did. Intrepid made a mental note to do some soul searching as soon as he had time alone. And he needed time to relax and collect his thoughts. His mind was still blundering. Kate was building barricades over the windows, and Intrepid acted to replace the door with a plastic one. It was better than new, he thought. Some rubber weather stripping would keep the rest of the rain out, but they didn't need to do that. Wait, Kate was building barricades? "Think the Darklings will follow us?" Intrepid asked her. "Ever wonder why this town is deserted?" Kate theorized. "And Eclipse said something about the Darklings taking something." "We could ask her," Intrepid said, looking at the stairwell. "Give a girl a minute." When they went back upstairs, Eclipse was waiting for them. She was wearing the shirt from Kate now, but still had the cloak. Intrepid noted its pockets, and wondered what she held. "I guess you really don't look like demons, or Darklings," Eclipse said shyly, "although your clothes are strange." "We're not from around here," Kate explained. "We crash landed here in a rocket." "A rock... what?" "Rocket," Intrepid repeated. "It's like an airplane. It travels in space." He noticed Eclipse's expression. Her face was tilted in confusion. "Sorry," she said warily, "I don't know what you're saying." "You wouldn't happen to have cell phone service, would you?" Kate asked. "What's that?" "Or electricity?" Eclipse shook her head. "Ever heard of a place like this?" Intrepid asked Kate. "Technologically ancient. Disconnected." "Actually, yes." Kate told him. "I've heard of a planet that's stuck in the medieval times, like Vanguard's Outpost, but I've never been there. It's called Militiregnum." She turned back to Eclipse. "Are we on Militiregnum?" "I've never heard that name," Eclipse answered, "but what are you saying about planets? Are there other worlds out there?" "Guess where we came from," Intrepid said sarcastically, and Eclipse turned to him excitedly. "Yeah, there's my homeworld, called Elistra, and we just came from the Nimbus System. We've been fighting there, with a large organization called the Nexus Force, against the Maelstrom. Nimbus has a Maelstrom problem, Elistra was attacked too, and apparently your world has a Maelstrom problem too... Darklings are Maelstrom, right?" "They come from Maelstrom Meteors," Kate confirmed. "One must have crashed here, which wouldn't be good. Have you seen the Darklings, Eclipse?" Thunder crashed again then, closer now. Eclipse shivered. "No, but I've seen what they've done. I heard this town was attacked by them. I came here because I wanted to see what they were, but they haven't come back for awhile." She looked around the room. "And it's a nice place, to be alone. I wasn't always alone, though." "Do you have family?" Kate asked. "Consider me orphaned." "Oh, I'm sorry." "I had a brother." Eclipse said. "Is his name Fusion?" Intrepid asked. "What? No." Intrepid sighed. "Wait, you said had?" "He was taken." Eclipse said tragically. Her face had become hard, still as a stone. "The Darklings took him." "How long ago?" Kate demanded. "Two months." Kate grabbed Intrepid's arm. "Come on, Intrep." she ordered. "We're going back in the tunnels." To Eclipse, she asked, "Can you use a weapon?" "I've never tried," she said, surprised. "Give her a gun, Intrep." "It's linked." Intrepid said, taking out his Mythran given Exceptional Pea Shooter. "Just give it to her!" Intrepid was surprised when the blaster just fell out of his hand and into Eclipse's. Their fingers touched briefly, but he didn't focus on it. He guessed the Nexus Force's rules didn't apply here. Well, they never applied to anything he did anyway. He decided to give her his Breastplate of Armored Inspiration, Shield of Shielding, Kettle Helmet, and Elite Longsword for melee combat as well. She looked at all of them with uncertainty. "If we're taking the fight to them," Intrepid instructed, "you'd best suit up." Eclipse took them and Kate helped her put them on. A strange rumbling came from outside the window, and Intrepid thought it was distant thunder for a second. But it was quieter, and closer. He extended the shutter's slightly, and saw, with dismay, that specimens of Darkling were darting around the town, tearing through walls and growling. They were getting collectively closer to the house. "Scratch that about going to them. They've come to us." Intrepid said. A winged Darkling suddenly thumped against the window, tearing through the wooden shutters with its terrible claws and tossing them to the grond. It growled, a deep bubbling sound, despite having no mouth to growl from, and extended its neck to Intrepid. Eclipse screamed, and Intrepid reared his Bat Lord Staff. With a strong jab of his weapon, the Darkling was promptly smashed. But its attack had attracted the others, and a bunch now amassed outside the house. Intrepid quickly built a wall over the window, and turned to the girls. Eclipse was covering her eyes from the smashed Darkling, and Kate was looking at the door, Samuraizor held at the ready. "We should go." Kate said. Then Darklings burst up through the floor. Chapter 8 With some shooting, swinging, and mostly stomping, Intrepid, Kate, and Eclipse were able to keep the Darklings below waist level. But the winged ones kept clawing up, knocking through the floorboards and sending splinters flying with their motions and their screeches, which sounded most horrible. Intrepid and Kate did well to dodge the growing holes in the floor, but the boards were suddenly ripped apart directly underneath Eclipse, and with a shriek she fell into the downstairs level, where the most Darklings were. Intrepid ran to the hole and nearly fell himself. He could jump down, or take the stairs. The door suddenly burst open, revealing a line of wingless Darklings awaiting entrance. Intrepid gulped. Jumping it was. He double jumped and rolled, bracing himself for the ground, and hit it fast. The Darklings were focused on securing Eclipse, letting Intrepid take out three with a combo attack. A fourth Darkling approached from behind and clawed at his cape. A swing to behind dispatched it and it smashed into pieces. The Darklings were carrying Eclipse out the door now. Intrepid began after them, but the other Darklings blocked his way. Unlucky for them, he had a Bat Lord Shield, and he ran at them with a Spinning Shield Slam, knocking them aside as he ran from the house again. The Darklings holding Eclipse sprouted wings and began to lift off, despite her kicks and cries. Intrepid reached for his Pneumatic Drill of Blasting - it was missing. He grabbed a Plunger Gun instead and shot the highest Darkling in the head. Blinded, it let go and fell down. The group began to sway but stayed in the air, moving away. Then the Exceptional Pea Shooter fell from Eclipse's hand, and Intrepid grabbed it triumphantly. He could use this. He fired blast after blast of frozen peas, as fast as he could, but they flew wild and landed everywhere. And he could feel his Imagination depleting quickly. He hadn't practiced much with this gun, but two shots happened hit to hit their target and another Darkling fell, smashing in mid-air. Intrepid had just enough Imagination for three more shots. The feeling of depletion was tugging at his consciousness. He fired two, hitting the last Darkling once, making sure not to hit Eclipse by accident, but the other shot missed. Then there was enough for just one more shot. He aimed as hard as he could, and squeezed the trigger. He silently prayed, and this shot was true. The Darkling smashed and Eclipse fell from the sky. With the last of his strength Intrepid darted under her flailing form and grabbed her, before falling to the ground as well. He had enough will left to grab a Notion Potion and pour it on his face. He sat up with a gasp, his energy restored. "You okay?" he quickly asked to Eclipse. She nodded. She was okay, but he wasn't. He was barely conscious now, and fell with his back against the ground. Intrepid had used Imagination for so long, he didn't want to know what would happen to him if it ran out. He'd heard unpleasant stories about Imagination detachment. It took time, patience, and pain for a minifigure to return to a pre-unlocked state. But there wasn't time to think about that. Intrepid was still feeling a bit delirious as Eclipse helped him up. Kate had made it out of the house, and she was fending off the rest of its Darklings, but more were making their way over from the forest. Intrepid felt the urge to lie down and rest, and he resisted it. He couldn't let his brief encounter with Imagination depletion get to him now. He needed to fight, but his limbs felt numb. He willed them to feel. His fingers tightened around his staff and shield. He activated another shield slam. The Imagination use stirred him awake. He rushed to join Kate and sent half her attackers tumbling, stunning them. "We have... to get out of this town," panted Kate in between dealing blows with the Samuraizor. "I'm sure Eclipse knows the way..." Intrepid breathed. They defeated that group of Darklings, and he turned to face the quickly approaching ones. They began to fight those ones as well, quickly filling the grounds with smashed monsters. "Have something to say for us, Eclipse?" Kate called as one Darkling got too close to her and was about to deliver a painful scratch. Intrepid smashed it. Intrepid risked a glance behind. Eclipse was by herself, mouth open, ready to say something. "Is there another town near here?" Intrepid called, before turning back to deal with more Darklings. Poke. Prod. Jab. The monsters kept coming. "There's another town," Eclipse said at last, her voice tinged with worry, "but we can't lead the Darklings there." "We can defeat them," Intrepid assured. "Speak for yourself," Kate huffed. There was a momentary break in the combat when they finished smashing all the Darklings in the immediate area, but there was another group approaching from the forest. Intrepid scrutinized them. "If they're coming from the caves, I have an idea. We can just blow it up to slow them down, stop them for now. Then we run for it." Kate shook her head. "Not a good idea if the Darklings can track us. We can't go to the town on foot." "We can fly, then!" Intrepid decided. He summoned the Pod Rocket, in its sorry, engineless state. "Fix this and fly." he said. Then he ran for the forest. "Wait!" he heard Kate call, but he was already running. He both speed boosted and shield slammed his way through the first Darklings to cross his path, then turned and went for the cave. There were Darklings climbing up through the hole in the ground. Intrepid activated a Flash Bang, stunning them so they fell back into the tunnels. He quickly tossed some bricks down and quickbulit a cover over the entrance, which wouldn't hold them for very long once they recovered. He turned back to the cave's opening to smash an approaching Darkling, then began unloading his collection of Firecrackers around the cave. The cover thumped as the Darklings began to climb again, and two more approached from the entrance. Intrepid smashed those as well, and continued laying Firecrackers. There would be a lot of damage happening very soon. Then he reached into his pack to equip his Shield of Shielding. He messed up. He didn't have the Shield of Shielding. The Firecrackers were about to explode and his Speed Boost was still charging. Suddenly someone grabbed his shoulder. He swung around and cried out as the Darkling clawed him in the back. There was a searing feeling as the blades cut past his cape and through his Bat Lord shirt. Then the Darkling was smashed, hit with the crimson blade of an Elite Longsword, and someone else grabbed his shoulders, laying him on the ground as he cringed from the wound. Eclipse was standing over him. "What are you doing here...?" he mumbled as the cover was thrown off next to him, and a Darkling stuck its soulless head out. Eclipse knelt down and put the Shield of Shielding between them. "Saving you." she said. The Darklings were almost upon them now, and the Firecrackers were about to blow. Intrepid activated the shield a second before everything around them was set on fire. **** It was dark when Intrepid's eyes opened. The light pattering sound of rain against the roof was the only sound apart from his breathing. He listened closely. No. The breathing wasn't his. There was someone else here. The atmosphere seemed familiar. The darkness enveloped everything so he couldn't see at all. He turned his head against something soft - a pillow. He was on a bed. There was one measely light source, a window, barely illuminated from the nightly outdoors. It didn't make much of a difference, the room was black and the window was a dark blue. Intrepid squinted. In front of the window, there was a silhouette in front of its frame, in the shape of a person.. "You're awake." a familiar sounding voice cracked. The silhouette shifted, turning around. Intrepid strained to make out any details. Her hair seemed long. Kate? "You could have been badly burned," she was saying, and she sighed. "The things you get yourself into..." Intrepid winced as he tried to push himself into a sitting position. The bed was plush under him and the covers felt heavy. "What time is it?" he muttered. "That's the thing," the shape said, stepping closer, but Intrepid still could not recognize her, although... it was still dark, but something about the air around her seemed to crackle. "Red." he assumed. In the darkness she nodded. "What's happening? Do you know where we are?" "We're on Elistra." Intrepid frowned. "So we made it." "You've been relocated to another town, but you haven't moved worlds since you crashed." The atmosphere dawned on Intrepid. The last place he had seen Red was in the small back room in the back of Alex's home, which had been his parent's home. His home. There had been a bench and a piano in that room. In this room where he was now, there was still a bench and a piano, and some extra furniture. "This is my house!" he exclaimed. "Not exactly," the girl he assumed was Red said grimly. "When your rocket was damaged, it slipped through more than a dimensional crack. You're in the past, Intrepid. You traveled to the past!" The revelation hit him in the stomach like a train. Was this what Tiberius meant when he could save his family? By traveling back in time? It was absurd! "This is crazy." he whispered. "Why are there Darklings here if we're in the past? Did they fall through a rift too?" "Didn't you read about Nexus Force history?" she groaned. "I think you'd know if I did." Intrepid grumbled. "My father never told me." "I haven't." Intrepid admitted. “My family wasn’t fond of the Nexus Tower.” "The Darklings were among the first monsters to be released by the Baron. They're born directly from the Maelstrom itself. The first Stromlings were minifigures infected by the Darklings." "And this happened when?" "Six years ago. Around that time of the Battle of Nimbus Staion, a Maelstrom shard crashed in Elistra's plainlands.” "Yeah, but when is now?" "It's January 3026 now. No one really knows the Maelstrom is here, and a lot of people are still superstitious." "Hey, my family’s religious." Intrepid said. "Yeah, there's a difference. I meant blaming everything on demons." probably-Red clarified. "Eclipse mentioned demons." Intrepid realized. "Who?" "So there's still Maelstrom here..." Intrepid continued to muse. "Does Tiberius expect me to prevent my family's death my stopping the Maelstrom now? By myself?" "About Tiberius," probably-Red answered, "my father, you from my dimension, wants you to know not to trust him at all. He says you should get out of here, and return to your time and place as soon as possible." "Things are already different between our dimensions." Intrepid muttered. He surprised himself. Was he actually considering this? "And they're different enough." probably-Red insisted. "For your own sake, just bail. He knows you better than anyone." "Considering our worlds are different, I think I'' know ''myself better." Intrepid resisted. "Why shouldn't I change this future? My present?" The girl seemed miffed. "You can't just play with your dimension's time all you want. It might not affect my dimension, but it affects me." "How so?" "Because you are how you are, because of your past. And I know what your future can hold. You have a very nice future ahead of you if you do as I say." "Don't I get to plot my own course in life?" Intrepid asked. "I thought you hate philosophy! This isn't you plotting your moves! Don't you get it?" presumed-Red shouted. Her voice cracked. "It's Tiberius. None of this would be happening if he hadn't meddled. He's the one pulling the strings here. He's the reason you're stuck in the past." "How do you know?" Probably-Red groaned most audibly. "He's not stupid," he heard her whisper to herself. Was that about Tiberius? No, she was talking about him. "He's just tired." She cleared her throat and said to him, "My dad went through this too. He told me about this particular event happening. He bailed as soon as he figured out what happened. What I can't figure out, though, is why you haven't." "Maybe something about our rocket crashing?" Intrepid suggested. "You could have fixed that." Something beeped on presumed-Red's person, and she looked down at a device on her belt. "Hate to cut this short, but I gotta get running. I'm sure you'll be too." "Wait," Intrepid said, holding up a hand. "What about Eclipse?" Probably-Red looked at him. Even though it was dark, he could imagine her brows furrowing like his usually did, perplexed. "I don't know who that is." she said. Suddenly her silhouette was gone. "Damn!" Intrepid cried to the air. He grabbed at his left wrist, at his transdimensional maneuverability device, still disguised as a watch. It felt like rubber plastic now. He willed Red's image into his head, and he closed his eyes tightly, wishing as hard as he could, to just go. He opened his eyes. Nothing happened. The device had failed. It was still broken. It'd been broken for awhile, just stopped working for no reason. And now, when he needed it most, it still didn't work. Out of nowhere, he remembered his first encounter with Red. It was in the Maelstrom Mine, on Avant Gardens. Suddenly he felt like his body was being ripped to shreds. Intrepid screamed as the feeling took over, and then he felt his parts mashing together. It stopped as quickly as it began, but now daylight was streaming through a hole in the wall. Of a cave. Intrepid got up quickly. He recognized the place. It was the entrance cave to the Maelstrom Mines in Avant Gardens. The device had worked, and now he was transported here. A Dark Spiderling walked up to him and began chewing on his cape. Intrepid got up quickly and punched it in the face. He didn't want to be here! He willed the device to take him back to Elistra, but of course it wasn't working again. An Assembly Engineer ran by and began spraying the overgrown Spider with bug spray. The Spider didn't seem to mind yet, and Intrepid snagged the Nexus Forcer's arm. "Hey," "What do you want?" the guy asked. "What time is it?" Intrepid demanded. The engineer shrugged. "Why, you can see for yourself, it is morning!" "What's the year?" Intrepid specified. "Same as yesterday, three-thousand the twenty-sixth. The date is January the ninth, eleven thirty ante meridiam, to be exact!" The Spiderling began screaming now. Intrepid screamed too, and fell to his knees. He might be in Avant Gardens, but it didn't make his situation any better, when he was still trapped in the past. It was worse, because now he'd lost Kate. Next: Part Three: Post Meridiem Category:Stories Category:Lego Universe Category:Song of the Swans